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Friday, December 03, 2010

Unemployment Back Up In November: 9.8 Percent

After three months of holding steady, the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in November, with payroll employment showing little growth, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

The jump is another sign of weakness in the nation's economic recovery. The monthly report dashed the expectations of economists, many of whom had predicted much more robust job growth.

Instead, while nonfarm payroll employment climbed 172,000 in October, the report said, it rose by only 39,000 in November.

The news also punctures some of the optimism that had been building because of other recent positive signs in the economy: Pending home sales jumped a surprising 10 percent; sales by U.S. automakers climbed by double-digit percentages; and many of the nation's largest retailers reported better-than-expected sales lastmonth.

Nevertheless, the unemployment report depicted an economy that was faltering, even weakening in its ability to add jobs.

1 comment:

Let’s not get too misty eyed. A lot of that manufacturing in the immediate post WWII era was immediately turned off. No more contracts for tanks and bombers. Second, with respect to “pauper” manufacturing, there was no competition with foreign countries because all the relevant countries were bombed into rubble.